Kaiser says Trentwood not for sale
Company says it is tired of hearing rumors about plant
John Stucke - Staff writer
Kaiser Aluminum Corp. is not trying to sell its Trentwood rolling mill.
The company made the announcement Tuesday to quell marketplace rumors and press reports, said company spokesman Scott Lamb.
Speculation that Houston-based Kaiser wanted to sell the Spokane Valley plant has lingered long enough, Lamb said.
In the past several months, newspapers, along with aluminum trade publications, have published stories about Kaiser's stated goal of selling assets. Often, Trentwood has surfaced as a factory the company wants to sell.
On Tuesday, Lamb wanted it clear: " (Kaiser) is not seeking a buyer ..."
Nearly 500 Steelworkers report to Trentwood shifts, said Dave Carlson, president of Local 338.
About 200 other workers are laid off and receiving partial pay.
The mill has not operated at full strength since last fall, when Steelworkers returned from a protracted labor dispute.
The mill now makes aluminum sheet for the aerospace industry after retreating from its one-time business of rolling aluminum to make cans.
Carlson attributes the slowdown to a sluggish national economy.
"I talk to people in other plants, and it's the same everywhere," he said. "If it wasn't for making Boeing metal, it would be much worse."
Earlier this summer, Kaiser sold a portion of its stake in an Australian aluminum refinery that provided raw material to its Northwest smelters in Tacoma and Mead.
The $189 million deal will help the company repay some of its $1 billion debt.
Lamb said the deal won't jeopardize its supply of alumina, as the company boosts production at a Jamaican refinery and restarts the rebuilt refinery in Gramercy, La.
There may be other asset sales, he said Tuesday, but declined to be more specific.
"While Kaiser continues to consider potential asset transactions," he said, "the company intends to pursue only those transactions that would create long-term value through strategic positioning and/or the generation of acceptable levels of earnings or cash."
He said Kaiser is meeting with financial advisers to address its near-term debt maturities and overall financial structure.
Kaiser's announcement follows last week's news that two other aluminum mills are for sale.
Michigan Avenue Partners, a Chicago-based investment group, has put its Longview, Wash., aluminum smelter and mill up for sale, along with a mill in Scottsboro, Ala.